Unloading cases of champagne in Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon.

The nature of this small fishing village, which had been severely hit by the recession, was radically transformed. Unemployment disappeared overnight. The men stopped fishing in order to become warehousemen or storekeepers. The fish processing plant, which had to close its doors for lack of fishermen, was converted into a warehouse to receive shipments. In 1923, over 1,000 ships carrying 500,000 cases of alcohol docked at the port… it was unprecedented! Even Al Capone went to see for himself the island that quickly became known as the liquor warehouse of America.